Author Archives: Barbara Pattee

All Love Is Created Equal

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In 1958, Richard Loving drove his fiancé Mildred Jeter from their home in rural Central Point, Virginia to Washington, D.C. to get married. Then they returned to Virginia to live. A few weeks later, the county sheriff arrived in the middle of the night to arrest the couple for breaking the miscegenation laws.

 

Miscegenation, which is marriage or cohabitation between two people from different racial groups, was illegal in 24 states in 1958. Richard was white and Mildred was black. They were jailed even though Mildred was pregnant at the time. When brought to trial, they were given the option of spending one to five years in jail or accepting banishment from the state of Virginia for 25 years. They weren’t allowed to be in Virginia at the same time for the entire length of the banishment. They pled guilty and opted to leave for Washington, D.C. But when it was time for Mildred to have her baby, she returned to Virginia to be near her family for the delivery. Although it was illegal, Richard also returned with her.

 

Caught together in Virginia, they were arrested. The Lovings pled guilty to miscegenation and again were forced to leave town. They moved back to Washington, D.C. where they lived for several years and had two more children. But in 1963, Mildred wanting to return to Virginia, wrote a letter to Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy telling him of their situation. The soft-spoken couple was referred to the ACLU which led to Virginia court cases and appeals to decriminalize interracial marriage.

 

On March 18, 1966, the love story, not the court case, of Richard and Mildred Loving was depicted in Life Magazine in a photo essay titled, “The Crime of Being Married.”

 

After losing in Virginia, their case was brought before the United States Supreme Court. The couple opted not to attend the proceedings.

 

On April 10, 1967, their attorney, Bernard S. Cohen, presented the case to the Supreme Court adding Richard Loving’s statement, “Tell the judge that I love my wife.”

 

At that time there were still 16 states, all in the southeast quadrant of the United States, which prohibited marriage between a black person and a white person.

 

On June 12, 1967, the Court unanimously ruled that Virginia’s anti-miscegenation statute violated the Due Process Clause and the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. Chief Justice Earl Warren’s opinion held that “Marriage is one of the basic civil rights of man fundamental to our very existence and survival.” This landmark case permanently changed the history of the United States. Now marriage between members of any ethnic group can no longer be prohibited.

 

In spite of the vitriol over a 2013 Cheerios commercial depicting an interracial couple and their adorable biracial daughter, 87% of Americans approve of interracial marriages. Only 4% approved in 1958.

https://youtu.be/pbWeH9cztHw

Demographer, William Frey of the Brookings Institution said, “We’re becoming much more of an integrated, multiracial society.”

The documentary, “Loving Story,” depicting the lives of the Loving family, won the WGA Screenplay Award AFI Discovery Channel Silverdocs in 2011. Now the highly rated, poignant film, “Loving,” brings their love story to the big screen. The film recreated some of the scenes pictured in the Life Magazine article.

 

I give thanks to Richard and Mildred Loving for fighting so hard for their right to live as a married couple in their home state. Their selfless act changed our country in numerous ways and made it legal for me to enjoy the life I do with the man I love.

Nothing New

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Ecclesiastes 1:9 New International Version “What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun.”

My cousin and I discussed movie makers’ lack of originality in some of their productions. Far too many films are simply remakes of previously successful movies and television shows. Not all the remakes are as successful as the originals.

“The Seven Samurai” produced in 1954 was remade as “The Magnificent Seven” starring Yul Brynner. Both were successful films. The 2016 version of “The Magnificent Seven” is a decent remake if you enjoy a good western where you lose track of the body count. The inclusion of Denzel Washington and Chris Pratt, both delicious eye candy, helped the mediocre script. The cultural diversity of the seven heroes can’t be overlooked.

Lew Wallace’s 1880 novel, Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ, was made into the 1925 successful silent film “Ben-Hur.” The 1959 version starring Charlton Heston and featuring 10,000 extras, 2,500 horses, and about 200 camels was a classic. However, the 2016 version was a flop with a lackluster script and a highly digitized version of the great chariot race.

“Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory” starring Gene Wilder was a beloved classic and Johnny Depp’s remake was a waste of screen time.

Simone Signoret’s “Diabolique,” a well-crafted, hold-your-breath 1955 French thriller had the audience gasping at key points in the story. American film makers produced a fair remake that wasn’t quite as terrifying, but the television version fell flat.

1954’s “Sabrina” starring Audrey Hepburn, Humphrey Bogart, and William Holden was remade in 1995 with Harrison Ford, Julia Ormond, and Greg Kinnear. I must admit I did enjoy this remake better than the original, probably because I liked Ford better than Bogart.

The re-creation of specific stories without substantial changes to the basic plot is a lazy way to make money. Reworking a familiar story with a different rendering can be done successfully.

Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet romance has been retold many times but none better than in the musical “West Side Story.”

The story of Cinderella has been depicted in animation as well as in live action. However, Drew Barrymore’s “Ever After” was a more creative rendition of a strong-willed Cinderella rather than the shy, emotionally abused young wimp in the fairy tales.

Rather than always doing remakes, movie makers could produce more films about real life.
One example, “Deepwater Horizon,” a true story depicting crew members fighting for survival when the Deepwater Horizon oil rig exploded in the Gulf of Mexico, is riveting.

Another example, “Queen of Katwe,” portraying the life of an uneducated young girl from Uganda who became a world-class chess champion, was inspiring. I enjoyed this film because it helped me learn about the trials and tribulations in another culture.

Even better would be more out-of-the-box stories. Two refreshing examples of great writing are the cartoons “Frozen” and “Inside Out”.

A great original, live action, character-driven production, “Hell or High Water,” is a well-crafted, western heist without overdoing the gunplay.

Have you thought about writing new, refreshing plots and not just doing a retread of the familiar ones? Surely there’s something new under the sun or at least new ways of telling it.

October 6, 2016 Blog

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“Life is always going to be stranger than fiction because fiction has to be convincing, and life doesn’t.” – Neil Gaiman

“Passenger Jet Lands in the Hudson.” That “Miracle on the Hudson” headline filled the front pages of many newspapers, not the pages of a novel.

I recently saw the movie “Sully,” which recreated U. S. Airways pilot, Captain Chesley Sullenberger III, landing his passenger jet on, not in, the Hudson River. A bird strike damaged both engines moments after takeoff forcing Captain Sully’s decision not to try to land at an airport. His daring maneuver saved the lives of all 155 people on that frigid January day.

If you had written a story about a jet’s safe water landing prior to this incident, few people would have believed it.

That movie brought back memories of a day in 1983. Fran, a close family friend, planned a trip to Taiwan and Japan with a tour group of six other women. She wanted to enjoy a vacation before leaving for a new job as an occupational therapist for crippled children in Atlanta, Georgia. My sister and I returned early from our vacation in Canada so that we could celebrate her upcoming adventure. Her friends gave her a going away party on Sunday, August 28. Fran was estranged from her mother, therefore my parents, sister, and I were her unofficial family. To this day I remember my sister and I embracing her at the party and singing “We are family, I got all my sisters with me,” the song by Sister Sledge.

Fran’s excitement and enthusiasm made everyone happy for her. She gave us her itinerary and gave my father the keys to her car. “Just in case,” she said. We made promises to visit her in Atlanta after she settled in. As we said good-bye, we wished her a safe and fun-filled trip.

On Thursday, September 1, 1983 news broke that a Korean plane carrying many Americans was attacked over Russian territory. My family sat in front of our parents’ television waiting for details of the attack.

KAL flight 007 was hit with Soviet rockets. I looked at Fran’s itinerary and froze. Slowly more information was released. Twelve minutes after the initial attack, radar contact was lost. When it was confirmed that the plane was lost over open water with 269 passengers and crew aboard, we cried.

The local news soon released the names of six of the American women in the tour group including their travel agent and a prominent judge. However, Fran’s name or information about her wasn’t released for several days. The TV anchor stated that the name of the last unidentified member of that tour group couldn’t be released because they weren’t able to find the name of her next of kin.

My mother called the company that booked the trip while I called the television station that focused on the story. To the gentleman answering the phone at the station, I identified myself, told him of my association with Fran, and simply said, “She was scheduled to take that plane. I can only hope she missed her flight. Please let my family know if she is the unnamed passenger you mentioned on the air.”

After a moment, the man said, “Please hold on while I get the station manager.”

I knew then that the news wasn’t good. I repeated the information to the station manager and he confirmed our worst fears.

“We’d like to know more about your friend,” he said. “Could we please interview your family?”

With my parents’ permission, a television reporter and camera crew arrived at their home the next day. During the televised interview, a postcard arrived at my parents’ home from our “sister” Fran stating that the trip was great so far and she was excited. Knowing that this joyous postcard would be the last communication from her was heartbreaking.

The camera crew focused on the postcard then asked for a picture of our late friend. We selected the picture of Fran smiling next to my sister’s youngest son. During the interview, my father was too overwhelmed to speak. My mother and sister talked about Fran’s loving and faithful spirit and I spoke about her looking forward to a new job and a new home. “I just didn’t know that her new home was going to be in heaven,” I said. Tears flowed freely, but I refused to wipe mine away.

The reporter later told us that when the interview was seen by staff members at the station, there wasn’t a dry eye in the place.

Fran was prominent and well respected in her church. A large memorial service was performed with my family there to mourn her. Her mother didn’t attend, but more than a hundred people who knew her were there. The television camera crew covered the services, but my father didn’t allow more interviews with us. He felt it was too much to endure.

After seeing “Sully,” the following words haunted me. “On Thursday, September 1st, 1983, Soviet jet fighters shoot down Korean Airlines flight 007 in Russian airspace killing all 269 passengers and crew members.”

In the movies, planes are often shot down. But this was real life and happened to a person I cared about, not a fictional character.  This was hard to swallow, to understand, to accept as reality. This was not a story I would have written. And yet life wrote that story for me.

Do you have a real life, almost unbelievable, story you’d like to reveal? Could you make it believable and not contrived? Even if you chose to write a fictional account rather than a memoir, would you be able to convince your audience that this could have happened?

I found it unbelievably difficult to write this shortened version of the horrible incident without tears filling my eyes. But I did write Fran’s story and tears be damned.

Tags: Sully, Chesley Sullenberger; September 1, 1983; Korean Airlines Flight 007, Soviet Jet Fighters

 

 

 

Trip of a Lifetime – Australia and New Zealand: Part 5

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Tuesday, April 5: Our group gathered in the hotel lobby for a visit to a predominately Maori school, Kaitao Middle School in Rotorua. Kaitao is a recipient of Grand Circle Travel donations. Roger again acted as our chief for purposes of introductions. A few selected students and staff welcomed each of us with the traditional Maori greeting. The Maoris greet a person by shaking right hands while placing the left hand on the person’s right shoulder and leaning forward touching foreheads to breathe in the person’s essence. The students sang a Maori song for us and we sang God Bless America for them. This school’s philosophy is to create a positive atmosphere for their students encouraging them to embrace their culture and to learn about others.

After a scenic drive to Auckland, we had a casual late lunch at Sal’s Authentic NY Pizza pizzeria. While there, a game on their TV attracted our attention. The NCAA Basketball Championship game between Villanova and North Carolina was in its final half. The game was so exciting that we didn’t want to leave. We ordered more pizza and cheered on whichever team we favored. The commotion we made prompted people walking past the small pizzeria to peek in. The teams were tied at 74 with less than a second to go. It looked like overtime would decide the winner. Suddenly the place inside and out erupted into loud cheers when Kris Jenkins’ three-pointer with four-tenths of a second remaining won the game for Villanova. Final score 77 to 74. What a great unexpected addition to our trip. We returned to the hotel and relaxed on our own for the rest of the day.

Wednesday, April 6: The first activity of the day for half the group was to sail on the Pride of the Sail in Auckland Harbour. The boat was operated by Brad at the helm and Brook as his assistant. What fun we each had taking our turn at the helm. Afterward, our half of the group exchanged places with the others and enjoyed a Harbour City Walk. An alternate option was a visit to the Maritime Museum.

The coach then took the entire group on a two-hour site seeing tour of Auckland. Our farewell dinner at the hotel was spectacular and delicious. A member of our group asked Roger to read aloud a prayer expressing her appreciation for the warm friendship of her fellow travelers and her wonderful experience on the trip. I couldn’t help but shed a few tears at her heartfelt words. Another member wrote a beautiful poem about our fun group and her great experience on the trip. We ended with hugs, kisses, and promises to try to keep in touch. This farewell dinner gave us a chance to say goodbye to those who were leaving this portion of the tour to return home while the rest of us continued for a few more days of travel.

Thursday, April 7: On our way to the Bay of Islands, we stopped at an impressive bird sanctuary run by a man and his wife. We learned about the kiwi, the national bird of New Zealand. Other birds also were housed there. In their one-room museum, we saw many pictures of birds, several stuffed birds, and pictures from visiting students illustrating what they learned at the sanctuary.

After our stop, we continued on the scenic ride to Copthorne Hotel and Resort in Paihia. Dinner at the hotel was followed by a relaxing evening where some of the remaining members of the tour group sat on the porch to socialize while overlooking the Bay of Islands.

Friday, April 8: At the wharf at Paihia, we boarded the Hole in the Rock Cruise boat. During the cruise, we saw about twenty playful bottlenose dolphins and other wildlife. The weather cooperated and we were able to cruise through the hole in the rock, a fascinating rock formation at the entrance to the Bay of Islands. On the return trip, Roger and some others climbed to the highest point on one of the islands from which they had a beautiful 360-degree panoramic view of the Bay of Islands. We stopped for lunch in the historical quaint town of Russell. We cruised back to the wharf, did a little site seeing, and later had an evening meal on our own.

Saturday, April 9: In the morning, our group took a guided tour of the Waitangi Treaty Grounds. That afternoon Roger and a friend played golf at the nearby course overlooking the Bay of Islands. Some people went to the waterfall, while the rest of us relaxed at the hotel.

Our dinner meal at the Only Seafood Restaurant on the stunning Paihia waterfront was delicious. Ronan and Roger ate green-lipped mussels in curry sauce. They were a sight to behold sucking the mussels from the shells and licking the dripping sauce from their fingers. The rest of us dined on less messy, but still tasty seafood.

Sunday, April 10: We loaded our packed bags on the coach for our return to Auckland. On the way, we stopped at the Glow Worms Cave for a tour. A few of us opted not to take that tour which included lots of descending stairs. We remained on the bus and socialized. Our next stop was the Jet Park Airport Hotel where we stayed in preparation for a 4:10 am departure the next morning. We had our dinner meal at the hotel and slept for a few hours.

Monday, April 11: Check-out time came much too early for this night owl. We took the shuttle bus to the airport. Ronan flew with us to Sydney, his hometown, and reminded us that we had to set our watches back two hours. Qantas served a satisfying hot breakfast on the flight to Sydney.

The crazy saga of our return home began when the Qantas flight was well over an hour late departing the Sydney Airport due to some mechanical problem. Not a very comforting announcement to hear. Roger said with that delay we might miss our Delta flight out of Los Angeles. After about 15 hours of flying, we arrived at the zoo, I mean, L. A. Airport, to retrieve our bags. We found numerous long lines at immigration. There were only two people handling the line we were in and one left for a break. Grrrr! Passengers in other lines who were behind us got through faster than we did.

Finally, another immigration agent arrived to process us. From immigration, we walked forever to the curbside Delta check-in. A couple of ladies in front of us gave the skycap a hard time about paying for their overweight luggage delaying us even more. Upon reaching the front of the check-in line, the skycap said that we were one minute too late to get checked in. The machine locked the skycap out. He hurried inside to find someone who could override the machine. This took another 10 minutes. Our plane was scheduled to depart at 9:20 am and it was already 8:45. His supervisor overrode the machine to check us in and gave us boarding passes.

Usually we go through the faster TSA line, however, our boarding passes didn’t indicate TSA pre-check. So we were directed to the regular, longer security line. Ugh. It was now 8:58. I did as the man at security suggested and politely asked to take cuts from people ahead of us who had later flights. They all said yes. This cut a couple of minutes off our time in the security line. Fortunately, my knee and hip replacements didn’t set off the machine. Yea!

It was about 9:09 when we finished. Roger grabbed his shoes and ran in sock feet to the gate a short distance from security. I can’t run, but I did a very fast walk to the gate with untied shoes. We arrived at the gate at 9:14. Luckily we were allowed to board only because they were still boarding a few other passengers. Apparently, that plane was also a little late. Thank goodness. I settled into my seat, exhausted, but grateful that we didn’t miss the Delta flight home.

The craziness of our flight out of Sydney and the delays at the LA Airport did not distract from our wonderful learning experience in Australia and New Zealand. I can’t thank my husband enough for adding this trip to my bucket list. We can’t wait for our next travel adventure.

Trip of a Lifetime: Australia and New Zealand Part 4

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Saturday, April 2: We looked forward to a jet boat ride – Roger excitedly, and me nervously. The wet and wild ride included 360 degree turns on a shallow river while dodging rocks and boulders. I’d recommend this fun part of our trip to anyone who is timid like me, but willing to try something new.

We also rode the Skyline Gondola to see the beautiful view of Lake Wakatipu. I stopped for lunch at the restaurant while my adventurous husband, Roger, enjoyed the zip line adventure.

After shopping at the DFS Souvenir Shop in the mall, we joined the rest of the tour group for a delicious dinner at the Prime Restaurant.

Sunday, April 3: After an early breakfast, the tour group took a coach to the Queenstown Airport for a three and a half hour flight to the Rotorua Airport. We had lunch at the Lakeside Café before visiting the Jade Centre. Jade is called Pounamu in the Maori language. Afterward, we arrived at the Distinction Rotorua Hotel to rest.

At 4:15 pm we took the Te Puia Cultural Tour and saw kiwi birds in the Kiwi House. The kiwi is New Zealand’s national bird and kiwi is the nickname that New Zealanders are proudly called. We saw many geysers, mud pools that smelled of sulphur, and the Maori Song and Dance Concert. After the dancers’ presentation, female members of the audience were invited to the stage to learn some of the Maori dance steps. Roger persuaded me to participate. It was exhilarating and lots of fun.

When it was the time for the men to learn the Haka dance, I encouraged Roger to go on stage. He was great and enjoyed the experience as much as I did.

The concert was followed by the buffet-style Hangi Dinner where over a hundred tourists had a choice of lamb, chicken, prawns, soups, salads, vegetables, and a variety of desserts.

Monday, April 4: We boarded the coach for a Rotorua sightseeing tour. We visited the Ohinemutu Living Maori Village and the Marae, a Maori meeting place. To enter the village, we had to choose a “chief” to represent our group. I’m pleased to say, my husband, Roger, was selected. He had to step forward to exchange a special greeting with the chief of the village and to speak for our group. He did an excellent job. And no, it didn’t go to his head.

We also visited the Rotorua Museum, saw a couple of short 20-minute movies about the culture, and then ate lunch at the museum café.

The best part of the evening was enjoying dinner at the home of Pamela and Willie, a three-generation Maori family. We were joined by two other couples in our group. The rest of the tour group dined with other families. Not only was the dinner delicious, but the conversation with Pamela, Willie, their daughter and daughter-in-law was enlightening. We were told that no topic was off limits. So we talked about the politics, racism, economics, and education in New Zealand and in the United States. We also enjoyed seeing the interaction between Pamela, Willie, and their young grandchildren. Afterward, we returned to the Distinction Rotorua Hotel to rest in preparation for the last leg of our wonderful trip.